Ron Dittemore is the retired former Space Shuttle program manager who was ultimately responsible for the series of decisions that resulted in the Colu

Dittemore’s Law

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2025-01-18 04:30:04

Ron Dittemore is the retired former Space Shuttle program manager who was ultimately responsible for the series of decisions that resulted in the Columbia disaster, which killed seven of the lost 25 astronauts.

Throughout my career I’ve become increasingly obsessed with a particular and fairly obscure form of institutional failure. I haven’t seen much written about its general form, so I’m writing this post to collate my thoughts.

Dittemore’s Law states that “A team composed of sufficiently competent, motivated, well-resourced individuals will tend to produce a collective outcome that is diametrically opposed to the intended, individually desired outcome.”

Dittemore’s Law is related to, but distinct from, several other wry observations about organizational and bureaucratic behavior.

Conquest’s Last Law states that “The simplest way to explain the behavior of any bureaucratic organization is to assume that it is controlled by a cabal of its enemies.”